MARLBORO — The Marlboro College campus is "available for immediate occupancy," according to Colliers International Group Inc.
The real estate group is offering virtual tours of the land and taking offers until Thursday. Information can be found at marlborocampus.colliers.com.
In a news release issued Tuesday, Colliers announced it was selected to market and secure the sale of the campus in collaboration with V/T Commercial.
"This is an exceptional opportunity to acquire a superb property, surrounded by the unparalleled beauty of New England's natural environment," Bruce Lusa, senior vice president of Colliers International said in the release. "Marlboro College faithfully served its town and the neighboring Brattleboro communities for nearly 75 years and moving forward, the campus' location, value and infrastructure will ensure that its new owners will continue to positively impact the area for years to come."
Marlboro College President Kevin Quigley declined to comment on the release.
Last month, the college announced it would move to remote learning modalities after spring break in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Last November, the college revealed plans to merge with Emerson College in Boston, which would result in the closure of the Marlboro campus.
The 530-acre property is marketed as being about 10 miles away from Brattleboro and within driving distance from major metropolitan areas. Colliers said it is "fit to be repurposed or for use as-is and is available for immediate occupancy," and includes 58 buildings and more than 210,000 square feet of facilities.
"[T]he charming campus is made up of dormitories, classrooms and lecture halls, administrative offices, a student center, dining halls, recreation and athletic facilities, a library, an auditorium and much more," the group said.
Recreational opportunities are being touted. The property is said to have about 17 miles of trails and to be near the Green Mountain National Forest.
The campus also hosts the annual Marlboro Music Festival, "one of the world's foremost classical music events, which will continue moving forward," according to the news release.
Randy George, alumna and member of the Campus Working Group that the college formed to solicit proposals and ideas, called the festival "an important part of this process."
"We are staying in close contact with them because their future will obviously be affected by a change of ownership of the campus and a new owner will certainly need to be working with the festival," he said in a question and answer posted on marlboro.edu. Festival organizers "would much rather keep things as close to the same as the current arrangement as possible. Having said that, given their resources and their interest in remaining in Marlboro, I personally think that it's not out of the question that they could become part of the ownership picture. That's not being discussed right now because we are focused on a couple of other prospects that have plans that would conform more to the vision and desires that the Marlboro community has expressed."
George said his group will not be able to release the names of interested parties until they agree to do so.
"This probably means that they won't be publicly known until a letter of intent or purchase and sale agreement is signed," he said. "We have been focusing primarily on trying to find an educational institution (or a partnership between a few different institutions) to take over the campus."
Emerson and the Marlboro College Board of Trustees and administration have allowed the working group to direct the marketing and sales process. George said the group will make a recommendation to the board some time after it meets on Monday.
"The hope is that by the time Marlboro's assets transfer to Emerson, the process will be well underway with a buyer for the campus," he said. "This is both Marlboro and Emerson's hope."
Reach staff writer Chris Mays at cmays@reformer.com and at @CMaysBR on Twitter.
